Safe to eat rabbit that cat caught?

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  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,671 Member
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    Well congrats on the strangest thread of the day :smile:
    Sure, why not? As others have mentioned, it's not any different that hunting game. Better it gets eaten than going to waste I guess.
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
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    The rabbit has been in your cat's mouth. Now read this: "Zoonotic Disease: What Can I Catch from my Cat?"

    I sleep with cats but I still wouldn't eat wild animals caught by them.
  • RivenV
    RivenV Posts: 1,667 Member
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    dbmata wrote: »
    glevinso wrote: »
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tularemia

    Been a rabbit hunter since I was 4, never had a problem. Which means naturally, next year i will.

    I've heard a lot of folks around here talk about checking one particular internal organ for spots to determine if the rabbit was a carrier for tularemia, but I don't remember the specifics.

    Thoughts?
  • mattyc772014
    mattyc772014 Posts: 3,543 Member
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    Stuff it in a turkey and then cook it. Should be all good to go.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    RivenV wrote: »
    dbmata wrote: »
    glevinso wrote: »
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tularemia

    Been a rabbit hunter since I was 4, never had a problem. Which means naturally, next year i will.

    I've heard a lot of folks around here talk about checking one particular internal organ for spots to determine if the rabbit was a carrier for tularemia, but I don't remember the specifics.

    Thoughts?

    http://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-and-environment/rabbit-fever-zmaz87mazgoe.aspx#axzz3KCWXQt00
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    From the Article:
    In rabbits, the symptoms of tularemia include lethargy and damage to various internal organs; in humans, the primary indications are fever and the swelling of lymph nodes. Although the disease is rare these days and can readily be cured with prompt medical attention, the threat remains: grave illness and the remote possibility of death.

    Country wisdom has long held—and correctly so—that rabbit fever can be avoided by not harvesting wild bunnies until after autumn's first killing frost; and even then, never handle dead or alive—an animal that behaves unnaturally. Today, that wisdom has been indirectly incorporated into law in most states, since legal rabbit-hunting seasons almost never open before late fall or early winter, and generally close before the arrival of spring.

    Big info here. The issue as brought up above is that cats are excellent killers, and they know that the weakest are the best. However, they're not suicidal, and it's not unheard of for a cat to pass up a visibly sick animal to kill another.

    Tularemia is rare, and the old saw is to check the liver. However, I believe that to be wholly a wive's tale.
  • Oscarinmiami
    Oscarinmiami Posts: 326 Member
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    I would assume the cat bite would be a bad thing
  • johnnylakis
    johnnylakis Posts: 812 Member
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    HereLieWe wrote: »
    is it safe to eat a rabbit that our cat caught? Will any bacteria from the cat bite be killed in the cooking process?
    I imagine you caught the rabbit the same way as if you hunted it. If your cat doesn't have any disease, why would the cat bite matter? By the way, I used to love eating rabbit as a kid. I haven't had it in years. If you were nearby, I would ask for an invite :smile:

  • corgicake
    corgicake Posts: 846 Member
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    Better question: has kitty had their rabies shot? In theory treating it like pork would probably be good enough, and in practice I'd be freakishly careful about how that meat was handled.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,472 Member
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    can I have the lucky foot or tail?
  • HereLieWe
    HereLieWe Posts: 233 Member
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    Thank you everyone for your great replies!

    To clear things up: The cat is up to date on all his shots. We usually find his prey when they're still alive (not this time though) so I'm not totally worried about the possibility of him having caught a dead rabbit. If he catches another rabbit, everything will be carefully sanitized and disposable gloves will be used when preparing it.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
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    Feed it to the cat.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    I'd grind it up and feed it to the cat, honestly.

    Any "germs" from the cat's mouth will be effectively taken care of during skinning, cleaning, desanguination, and cooking.
  • silentKayak
    silentKayak Posts: 658 Member
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    glevinso wrote: »
    I bet if you cut it into pieces, put it in a crock pot with some veggies, herbs, spices, etc and left it alone on low for a few hours you would have a pretty tasty rabbit stew.

    Stupid fat hobbit! You ruins it!

    gollumrabbit.jpg

  • CarrieCans
    CarrieCans Posts: 381 Member
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    You can eat it. You just have to take off the hat, then the mittens, then remove its slippers, unzip it's jammies all the way up.... That's how i was taught to skin one when i was really little.

    Thumper stew is so yummy.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    CarrieCans wrote: »
    You can eat it. You just have to take off the hat, then the mittens, then remove its slippers, unzip it's jammies all the way up.... That's how i was taught to skin one when i was really little.

    Thumper stew is so yummy.
    If I ever buy a child, I'll use that to teach them. That's a good one.
  • FitnessTrainer69
    FitnessTrainer69 Posts: 283 Member
    edited November 2014
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    Why wouldnt it be ok? Its safer to eat that rabbit then the meat you buy at the market.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
    edited November 2014
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    My cat can catch and kill rabbits. And birds. She almost never gets out to demonstrate her prowess, but she's totally capable.

    A few weeks back, the pool guys left the door open to the pool and I had no clue. When I got back from the store, I came into the kitchen and found a dead bird on the floor.

    It is the thought that counts and I do appreciate her for trying to help me out and contributing to the household food supply, but it's just so dismaying and unnerving to find a feathered corpse in the kitchen when you weren't expecting it.

    I throw her kills in the trash.

    I suppose you could eat the bunny if you wanted to skin and butcher it. If you do, let us know how it goes.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
    edited November 2014
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    Kalikel wrote: »
    I suppose you could eat the bunny if you wanted to skin and butcher it. If you do, let us know how it goes.

    If we ignore the details (which are kinda important) there isn't a huge difference between hunt via cat, and hunt via cormorant or hunt via falcon/hawk/eagle.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,998 Member
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    LoneWolfRunner wrote: »
    I would have to be pretty hard up before I would think about munching a rabbit.

    Why?

    leaving aside the cat catching it part - why wouldnt it be ok to eat rabbit? how is it different from eating lamb, chicken etc?

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